HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Huntsville City Council members were unable to reach a consensus Thursday night on whether to expand the list of nonprofit agencies receiving city tax support.

During a work session on Mayor Tommy Battle's proposed 2013 budget, Councilman Will Culver suggested an amendment that would spread roughly $500,000 in anticipated leftover tax money among more than a dozen nonprofits.

Culver wants the city to be more generous with some well-known institutions such as the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library and Huntsville Museum of Art, while also making room in the budget for newer groups including Village of Promise, Nexus Energy Center and MediaArts Institute.

Under his proposed amendment, Village of Promise, which is working to break the cycle of poverty in the University Place Elementary School zone, would receive $100,000 in the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.

Another $100,000 would go to Arts Council Inc. to create a competitive grants program for smaller arts and cultural organizations.

Culver is also recommending $40,000 for North Alabama Coalition for the Homeless, $35,000 each for Nexus Energy Center and MediaArts Institute, $25,000 for Huntsville Area Crime Stoppers, $15,000 for Alabama A&M University's debate team, $10,000 for the Alabama Non-Violent Offenders Program, $7,500 for Community Ballet Association and $2,500 for Tennessee Valley Jazz Society's Jazz-N-June festival.

Four city agencies -- the library, art museum, Burritt on the Mountain museum and EarlyWorks Children's Museum -- would see their city support rise by as much as $92,000 under Culver's plan. And Sci-Quest Hands-on Science Center, which Battle wants to erase from the budget, would get $50,000.

Huntsville City Councilman Will Culver

"These groups are primarily centered around our children, and we've got to invest in our future," said Culver. "If I'm a sucker, I'm going to be a sucker for these things."

Other council members had different ideas about what to do with any leftover tax money. With sales tax collections running 2 percent ahead of projections, Finance Director Randy Taylor said the city is on track to take in more than it spends in 2012.

The exact amount may not become clear for several weeks, however.

Councilman Bill Kling said his preference would be to earmark the first $100,000 in leftover funds for the city museums and library, which all have serious maintenance needs. Huntsville has to budget conservatively in 2013, he said, because of the "600-pound gorilla" of possible federal cutbacks affecting Redstone Arsenal and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.

Councilman John Olshefski said he has "sweaty hands" over this budget and indicated that he would be more comfortable giving some deserving nonprofits a one-time appropriation.

"When you stick it in the budget," said Olshefski, "then everybody expects to get it every year."

Council President Mark Russell opposes any additional agency spending, and he is also unhappy with Battle's plan to transfer about $7 million from the capital improvements budget to the government operations budget.

The shrinking capital account means the city won't be able to widen Airport Road to seven lanes until 2022.

Cutting back on capital spending is a "recipe for disaster" that Russell predicted will come back to bite future City Councils.

Battle said any leftover tax dollars would be best spent on new fire trucks, police cruisers and other city vehicles, or repaving some of the city's 38,000 lane miles.

"Every one of these (nonprofits) are great organizations," said Battle, "but they're not the primary job that Huntsville residents pay taxes for.

"This city has to provide services."

Culver said his agency requests represent about one-quarter of 1 percent of next year's proposed $236 million budget. "It would be a low-down, dirty shame if any of these organizations have to shut their doors," he said.

The council hopes to vote on the budget at its regular meeting next Thursday.